Themes: Criminal's Revenge, Dangerous Friends, Cons and Scams
Main Cast: Nick Nolte, Jeff Bridges, Sharon Stone, Catherine Keener, Albert Finney, Shawn Hatosy
Release Year: 1999
Country: US
Run Time: 106 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Old rivalries lead to new betrayals in this Sam Shepard drama with comic undertones. Vinnie (Nick Nolte) and Carter (Jeff Bridges) have known each other for years, but their relationship has grown less than cordial. Many years ago, the two men, along with Vinnie's girlfriend Rosie (Sharon Stone), were making good money in a con game at a racetrack until Simms (Albert Finney), the local racing official, got wind of their ruse. Vinnie and Carter hatched a blackmail scheme that ended Simms' career and ruined his life. Years later, Vinnie is an alcoholic low-life who still makes a living from blackmail; Carter is now a successful horse breeder, married to Rosie, and Vinnie has incriminating information about him that he uses to get Carter to pay his living expenses. Carter gets a call from Vinnie one night as he's finalizing the sale of his prize-winning stallion Simpatico; Vinnie is in jail on a morals charge regarding a woman he's been seeing named Cecilia (Catherine Keener). Vinnie makes Carter an offer: if he comes to California to help him out of this mess, he'll hand off the documents that he's been using against him for years. Carter agrees, but when he arrives, it turns out that Vinnie's not in jail, Cecilia has filed no charges against him, and this is just part of a larger scam with Carter as its target. Director Matthew Warchus made his screen debut with this film; he also adapted the screenplay (in collaboration with David Nicholls) from the play by Sam Shepard. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
The horseracing movie Simpatico gets off to a great start on its first leg, beautifully shot and smartly edited, revealing few details about the mysterious hold the scraggly layabout Vinnie Webb (Nick Nolte) has over millionaire breeder Lyle Carter (Jeff Bridges). As Carter leaves in the midst of a major deal to sell his prize horse, in order to fly from Kentucky to Southern California at a moment's notice, there are hints at major scandal and lewd underhanded dealings. However, as the narrative unfolds, the secrets of Sam Shepard's play are not as earth-shattering as expected, which inevitably saps some of the life from the picture. By the time it wraps up, the drama has become overwrought, with Sharon Stone's character in particular losing her marbles in a way that outstretches her sins. Still, Shepard's words, adapted by David Nicholls and director Matthew Warchus, are often capable of eliciting great performances; Nolte and Bridges are both electric, but they're surpassed by the great Albert Finney as a disgraced racing official putting his life back together, trying to avoid the temptation that once burned him. Master cinematographer and two-time Oscar winner John Toll gives the picture a rich twilight look, which doubles as thematic commentary on the impending downfall of schemers who had cheated discovery for too long. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
Andrew Laws - Art Director, Leon Melas - Associate Producer, Daniel Swee - Casting, Karen Meisels - Casting, Karen Patch - Costume Designer, Matthew Warchus - Director, Pasquale A. Buba - Editor, Sue Baden-Powell - Executive Producer, Joel Lubin - Executive Producer, Greg Shapiro - Executive Producer, Stewart Copeland - Composer (Music Score), G. Marq Roswell - Musical Direction/Supervision, Amy B. Ancona - Production Designer, John Toll - Cinematographer, Dan Lupovitz - Producer, Jean-Francois Fonlupt - Producer, Timm Oberwelland - Producer, Ellen J. Brill - Set Designer, Lance Brown - Sound/Sound Designer, Matthew Warchus - Screenwriter, David Nicholls - Screenwriter, Sam Shepard - Play Author
As youths in Azusa, Vinnie, Carter, and Rosie pull off a racing scam, substituting winners for plodders and winning big bucks on long odds. When an official uncovers the scam, they set him up for blackmail. Jump ahead twenty years, Carter and Rosie are married, successful racers in Kentucky about to sell their prize stallion, Simpatico. Vinnie is a drunk in Pomona. Vinnie decides to make a play for Rosie, lures Carter to California, steals his wallet and heads for Kentucky with the original blackmail material. Carter begs Vinnie's friend, a grocery clerk named Cecilia, to follow Vinnie and get the stuff back that he has in a box. Will she succeed?
